Purple Goddess Online Pilgrimage™ – A 12-Month Spiritual Journey
by Anne Elliott Purple Goddess

Pilgrimage is about longing—longing for connection, longing for source, longing to “come home.” Phil Cousineau describes it beautifully in his book The Art of the Pilgrimage, “A voice calls to our pilgrim soul. The time has come to set out for the sacred ground, the mountain, the temple, the ancestral home—that will stir our heart and restore our sense of wonder.”

Like many of you reading this article, I spent many busy years in feminist action. We all remember, “The personal is political.” Over the years, I have come to realize that the personal/political is also SPIRITUAL. On the feminist journey, many of us neglected to nurture our souls, and so while we accomplished significant changes and furthered the cause of equality in society, our spiritual lives languished.

My personal pilgrimage began over 30 years ago, as I was steeping myself in Goddess spirituality and adopted the name “Purple Goddess” when I was “crowned” a Crone (wise woman). My longing for the Goddess led me to retreats, books, and of course pilgrimages. In 2000, Spiritworks—the new-age bookstore in Saskatoon I co-owned with Patricia Smith (which some of you may remember)—sponsored Crossing to Avalon, a pilgrimage to sacred sites in the British Isles and France. In 2018, I was honoured to join renowned contemporary Goddess and scholar Carol P. Christ on her Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete.

Women’s Circles are a passionate focus of my life. As a social worker, I facilitate innumerable Healing Circles for female survivors of sexual and domestic abuse, and regularly guide women through Sacred Circles based on the Celtic Wheel of the Year.

Over the past years, many of my female clients have consistently shared what they most long for—a meaningful Goddess focus in their lives and a supportive community of women.

As I reflected on their yearnings, it became clear that the best way I could serve is to do what I’ve done for years—support women’s transformation.

So I am pleased to announce that in early 2022, I will be launching a year-long course called the PURPLE GODDESS ONLINE PILGRIMAGE™—a transformative, spiritual journey through the Celtic Wheel of the Year.

The goal of this pilgrimage is to inspire each pilgrim to embrace their unique Goddess path through the sharing of practical Goddess/Spiritual wisdom. And to allow all the pilgrims on this journey to establish a mutual support network through the medium of women’s circles.

During the pilgrimage, we will embrace the energies of the Triple Goddess—Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Together, we will cultivate a powerful and transformational connection to the eight festivals of the Celtic Wheel (e.g. summer solstice) and their associated Goddesses. And we will discuss issues that Goddesses everywhere deal with—feminine power, accepting our sovereignty, the mystery of the labyrinth, the true meaning of Divinity, sexuality, grief, feminine essence and more...

Once a week, participants will gather online in small women’s circles. The bonding and sharing within these intimate circles provide some of the most powerful and transformative experiences of this online journey.

With all the difficulties COVID has imposed, it has also opened our lives to the unprecedented benefits of connecting online. This online pilgrimage makes possible sharing and supporting one another wherever you may be in the world. Not quite as cozy as being together in the same physical space, but inspiring and intriguing nonetheless!

Are you called to join our PURPLE GODDESS ONLINE PILGRIMAGE™?

Questions or comments—or just want to connect? Please contact me directly at anne@purplegoddess.guru.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Anne Elliott Purple Goddess has dedicated her life to supporting women’s transformation. As an intuitive and innovative presenter, Purple Goddess encourages women to find their Goddess path through ritual, ceremony, Tarot, and personal introspection. Her new book, Sophia’s Return—A Guide to Creating a Goddess-Inspired Sacred Circle is being released in late 2021, and she is hard at work on the Purple Goddess Tarot Deck™. For more information, see the display ad on page 23 of the 27.4 November/December issue of the WHOLifE Journal.